Winter is coldest since 2003

Severe winter weather prevailed around Finland during the first weekend of 2010. The coldest areas were in the east of the country. On Sunday the winter’s record cold reading was set at Kiutaköngäs in Kuusamo, where a temperature of -36.6° Celsius was recorded.
      Further south, in Konnunsuo in Lappeenranta, the temperature was -34.5°C.
     
The Finnish Meteorological Institute says that this winter is the coldest since 2003, when a reading of -31.1°C was recorded even at Helsinki-Vantaa Airport in the far south of the country.
      The winters of 1999 and 1987 were also chilly, with the temperature in Vantaa dipping down to -35.9°C.
      Cold winters are quite normal for Finnish Lapland. Even last year, which was a relatively mild winter nationwide, the temperature dropped at one point to -37.6°C in Inari.
     
Meteorologists are not promising any relief to the deep freeze in the near future, although snowfall might lead to a temporary rise in temperature. This happened on Sunday in the east of Finland, where temperatures rose to a balmy -10°C.
      A slight rise in temperature is expected in the second week of January, but is expected to remain at about the normal levels for the season. Average January temperatures are -4 degrees Celsius in Helsinki and -14°C in Finnish Lapland.
      The cold snap is not limited to the north of Europe. Freezing temperatures are being reported further south, but in the Mediterranean, readings are mostly above zero.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Winter: Not going anywhere anytime soon (23.3.2009)
  Snowy winters are becoming a thing of the past in Southern Finland (12.2.2009)
  Winter brings both annoyance and delight to Helsinki (25.11.2008)
  Climate change brings mild and rainy winter weather - and it is here to stay (18.2.2008)

Links:
  Finnish Meteorological Institute: Helsinki five-day forecast
  Celsius to Fahrenheit converter